In my view, it would be just as well if the xforms front end were discarded in favor of one using the GTK libraries (used by Gnome, originating from the GIMP work IIRC).
I have not met anyone in some years using *any* version of Linux that did not have at least qt or gtk, in most cases both, installed already. Personally, I have a clear preference for kde, so the qt interface is fine by me! ... There are a number of package/installation systems in Linux--perhaps as we get true Linux Standard Base-compliant we can settle those down a great deal! I have also heard good things about yum (making up for some of the rpm deficiencies); yast keeps getting better; of course Debian led the way with apt/dpkg; and others such as portage are also supposed to be excellent. Regarding the BaKoMa fonts--is there a version around in TrueType that has been encoded not to conflict with the Windows font engine? If so, that would seem to be your best out... David